It seems the tax-cut deal that Congress just approved will do more than put more green in everyone's pockets - it may help keep our landscape green, too.
The American Forest Foundation, a nonprofit group that champions the cause of private owners of woodlands, had warned that millions of acres of forest would be at risk if the deal didn't pass and the estate tax reverted to 2001 levels.
Relaxing the estate tax was one of the deal's more controversial provisions, as many Democrats complained it was an unwarranted sop to the wealthy. But the forest foundation argued that a huge chunk of America's forests are in family hands, not the government's or some big corporation's. And, it said, many private forest owners live relatively modestly, with incomes under $100,000, even if their woodlands are worth millions.
The group warned that if something wasn't done to ease the inheritance tax burden, many of those privately owned forests would have to be chopped up and sold when the owners died. And with an estimated 15 percent of owners 75 years or older, a significant chunk would be at risk of changing hands soon.
So under the deal that Congress sent to President Obama to sign, the estate tax rate will go from 45 percent to 35 percent (instead of back to 55 percent as it was in 2001), and the threshold for having to pay any tax at all would be raised from estates worth $3.5 million to those exceeding $5 million.
Of course, simply easing the tax burden doesn't guarantee that forestlands will be preserved. A 2006 U.S. Forest Service survey found that owners of nearly a quarter of the forested lands planned to sell some or all in the near future, and that only a tiny fraction of the woodlands are in conservation easements or certified as being managed sustainably.
The forest foundation agrees that relaxing the estate tax isn't the ultimate solution. It says Congress should increase incentives for owners to keep their land forested. It notes there's legislation pending in both chambers that would allow heirs to defer payment of any estate taxes on inherited forestland as long as it's kept intact and managed sustainably.
(2002 Baltimore Sun photo by Amy Davis)